Extract text from Apple cache files (QDAT)
To convert QDAT cache files to another format, you need Apple Safari or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Application Cache File" file type, you need software like Apple Safari or a similar tool.
.QDAT files are proprietary data files primarily used by Apple's macOS ecosystem. They serve two common purposes: storing user browsing history in the Safari web browser, or acting as temporary installation cache data for QuickTime managed by the Wise Installer.
Typically, these files are read automatically in the background by Apple Safari or background installation wizards. They do not have dedicated viewer applications for everyday users.
Users often need to convert .QDAT files because they want to access, read, or audit their own internet browsing history or extract specific installation logs. However, the current format is highly restrictive. It is proprietary, entirely undocumented, and often structured as raw binary data or unformatted SQL blobs. Opening these files directly in a standard text editor yields unreadable, scrambled text. You cannot natively import them into standard spreadsheet tools.
If you need to analyze the data, the best target formats are CSV or TXT. Converting to these formats allows for easy sorting and filtering in standard applications, though structural metadata specific to the Apple ecosystem is usually lost in the process.
Because .QDAT is a closed, proprietary format, it is notoriously difficult to open or convert. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the data. Standard online converters completely fail to process it. However, convert.guru can still identify the file format, inspect the binary file, and show underlying text or internal content. Just drag and drop your file to see what it is and convert it if supported.
Convert.Guru analyzes your QDAT file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DAT, MOV, H264 and PICT files.
If you want to convert QDAT file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use Apple Safari or similar software from the "Browser History Cache Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to QDAT, try Apple Safari or another comparable tool in the "Browser History Cache Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our QDAT converter.